Arizona Explained: Hostage situation ignited conflict

Located in the Dragoon Mountains, Cochise Stronghold got its name for providing refuge to the legendary Apache chief.(Photo: Roger Naylor/Special for the Republic)

Some people subscribe to the “great man” theory of history, the belief that a few forceful personalities shape history through their thoughts and actions.

Others say the interplay of national, economic and ideological forces drives history.

Proponents of each view might point to the Bascom Affair as an example.

By 1860, tensions were growing between the native people who had lived in southern Arizona for centuries and the immigrants — ranchers, miners and so on — flocking to the region.

Not surprisingly, there were clashes.

In January 1861, a band of Apaches raided John Ward’s ranch on Sonoita Creek, stealing about 20 head of cattle and kidnapping Ward’s 12-year-old stepson, Felix Telles.

Ward reported the attack to Lt. Col. Pitcairn Morrison, the commander of nearby Fort Buchanan. Suspecting that the Apache leader Cochise was involved, Morrison dispatched Second Lt. George Bascom and 54 men of the 7th Infantry to rescue the boy and recover the livestock.

On Feb. 3, the expedition set up camp near Apache Pass, between the Dos Cabezas and Chiricahua mountains in southeastern Arizona.

The next day, Cochise and a small band, including several relatives, rode into Bascom’s camp to investigate.

Bascom invited the Apache leader into his tent. Then he demanded that Cochise return the boy and the cattle.

Cochise denied having either, but offered to find the boy and return him within 10 days.

At this point, philosophers of history can plead their cases.

The “great man” theorists may claim that the 10 years of warfare that followed were directly attributable to the actions of Bascom and Cochise.

Proponents of “historical forces” can counter that, given the frictions generated by the influx of settlers, an Apache war was inevitable. In this view, if Bascom and Cochise hadn’t triggered the conflict, someone or something else surely would have.

Be that as it may, what happened was this: Bascom, just 23 years old and perhaps afraid of appearing weak or naive, couldn’t bring himself to accept the 50-something Apache chief’s protestations of innocence, and refused to let him go.

Cochise sliced a hole in the tent and escaped, leaving the rest of his band behind.

He returned the next day to negotiate their release, but Bascom wasn’t having it. Any exchange, he maintained, would have to include Telles.

From there, events quickly spiraled out of control. Cochise attacked the nearby Butterfield Overland stage station, killing one employee, wounding another and taking the last one hostage. He seized more hostages from a passing wagon train.

Still, Bascom wouldn’t budge.

Cochise ended up killing all six hostages. In retaliation, Bascom ordered all male hostages from Cochise’s band hanged.

The episode eventually became known as the Bascom Affair, the spark that ignited 10 years of guerrilla warfare throughout the region.

Bascom was promoted to captain, but was killed in the Battle of Valverde in New Mexico on Feb. 21, 1862.

Cochise, eventually driven into the Dragoon Mountains, agreed to an armistice in 1872.